TAIR-3 300mm - an impressive performance

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

I took mine out today for the first time in ages, and realized why. The focusing ring is very stiff, the old grease has solidified, and used hand held it turns the lens off the camera. My adapters have the spring removed.
My plan is to shrink an aluminium ring onto the outside of the lens so I can drill it for the Pentax camera pin. But that will be after I've had it to bits and re-greased it.

Used on a tripod though it's safer as there's a ring on the lens, but the stiff focus is still annoying.
It needs a strong tripod as well, I'm sure I lost some shots on the lightweight Gitzo with a Manfrotto ball head due to mirror slap. But my huge old Slik Pro doesn't move, I just need another Sherpa to carry that!

WolverineX · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 6:58 pm Post subject:

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

WolverineX · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:52 pm Post subject:

...and guess what color is the base coat? olive green Wink

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Get that untested Tair out of the box and try it!

Olive green underneath eh, makes you think that some batches may have been made for the military/GRU/KGB whatever and were unused so were repainted for sale on the civilian market.

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

I had the K10, with battery grip and the Tair 300 in the kitchen just now so I humped it onto the scales while my missus wasn't looking.
2779 grams ! It's no wonder the sherpa is asking for a pay rise. Rolling Eyes

JohnBee · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 179

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

vlousada · Joined: 11 Dec 2010 Posts: 345 Location: Portugal

Hi,
I purchased one and got it today!! Smile

Only had time to unpack the postage and look the lens during my short lunch break... The focusing system is nice, however I did not manage to change the aperture.
- How really does it work? Embarassed

WolverineX · Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:33 pm Post subject:

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

If it's the non sniper -

rotate the very front aperture ring with the red dot to the right - f4.5

then you can rotate the second aperture ring, with the white dot, to whatever aperture you want.

If for instance you set f8 with the red dot ring, you then rotate the white dot ring back, and it will not rotate past the setting of the red dot ring, f8.

This allows a quick and easy way to set the aperture you want, and then flick the aperture wide open to focus, then flick it back - stop down - to whatever you've set.

What I often do is leave the red dot ring set at f22 and just use the front right dot ring.

vlousada · Joined: 11 Dec 2010 Posts: 345 Location: Portugal

Thank you both.
I must check it again tonight.

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

The stiffness ..................

I did something about it today, and took the Tair to bits.

I followed this old thread from this very forum as a starting point, it's such a shame that the original pictures are now lost, but the write up and subsequent pictures were a good start.

http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopic.php?id=3880

I stripped the lens back to the point shown in that topic, cleaned the grease off with lighter fuel, regreased with light lithium grease, and put it back together.

It's 'better' but still not as free as I'd like it to be. I think a bigger strip down is required, I haven't yet made the tool to remove the back end fully and I'm thinking this now has to happen. So if anyone can add to the strip down details that would be good.

( FROM THE ORIGINAL TOPIC )

Icebird wrote that he thought the bigger cause of the tightness was the friction of the seal between the two tubular parts of the body, and he's certainly raised a good point. When the lens is stripped and tube 2 is not fastened to tube 1 my lens is very free, screw the two together and some tightness returns.
Information from another forum says that there's felt seal between the two sliding parts ( 2 and 3 ) and that gets hardened with age and causes stiffness. I think that is the case.
So I've poured lighter fuel into the very small gap between the two parts and gained a bit of an improvement. By this time I was prepared for a full strip down if necessary and wasn't too concerned if the fuel got on the elements, which it didn't. So it's having a regular dose of fuel to hopefully wash the crap out and soften the seal.

Another possible cause of tight focusing is the over tightening of the tripod mount ring, possibly that can slightly distort the tube that it's mounted on ?
( The pictures show the tripod ring removed, it doesn't need to be removed at all. )

I've definitely improved the focusing, but I think I need to get the old grease out of the outer helicoid rather than just rely on working the helicoid while soaking the portion of the inner part that is exposed in lighter fuel.

Anyway, I'll try it out and see if I can live with it.

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

It still works, here's a couple of pictures from the test, one is a 100% crop. Both have been lightened slightly but otherwise untouched and shot at ISO 200 - 1/500s and probably f8, I shot JPEG for the test. On a tripod as well.

JohnBee · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 179

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Very nice bird shot. I agree that the Tair is one of the biggest bargains out there.

Glad I got mine cheap, I have a feeling in the future these things are going to increase in price.

I just bought a Hoya 5.6/300 in C/Y fit so I can use it both on my EOS and my Contax 139, be very interesting to see if it can rival the Tair, I have three cheap Japanese 300s and they are all awful compared to the Tair.

martyn_bannister · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 1151

Well, I've just finished a shoot out between the majority of my 300mm lenses, to find the best one for astro and the TAIR (Photosniper version) takes it.

It gave the best performance/aperture ratio by giving acceptable images starting at f8. My MOG 300/4 came second at f16, followed closely by my silver Tamron 300/5.6, also at f16 then the Paragon 300/5.6 at f16 and finally the Optomax 300/5.5, which was frankly awful at all apertures Smile

On a bang for lightness ratio though, the Paragon wins hands down, being of the "long lens" design Smile

tinybynature · Joined: 29 Jan 2013 Posts: 75

Hello,

I am looking at one of these lenses and am a little confused by the "photo-sniper" vs "non photo-sniper" versions.

What is the difference?

Also, I am seeing the following:
Tair 3

Tair 3 - Phs

Tair 3 - S

Tair 3 - S MC

Can anyone explain the differences?

Thanks.

martinsmith99 · Expire: 2013-11-18

The PhS was designed to be used with the Photosniper kit and has a focus wheel under the lens and a stopdown lever.

Link here: http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Zenit_Photosniper

It's not easy to use. I sold mine and bought the Tair 3A preset version instead. Which is the the same optically, but works like a normal lens.

They're very good and even more so when you consider that they are only triplets.

NewStuff · Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 847 Location: Wales, UK

Where as I prefer the Photosniper focus system, and wish all long lenses had it. I would kill for it to be on my Pentacon 300/4.

Regardless of the version, I've yet to see a report of a bad example, unless the optics have been abused, and it's really not that heavy, the Pentacon 300/4 is far heavier.

SXR_Mark · Joined: 12 Jun 2010 Posts: 506 Location: England

I think all TAIR-3 are photosniper lenses; the name changed as production evolved. The TAIR 3-PhS and TAIR 3-S certainly are as I have examples of both. The PhS has silver bands around the front whilst the 3-S (or 3-C if you have a cyrillic scripted version) is plain. I think the 3-PhS predates the 3-S. I've never seen one marked MC but it would be logical to assume this is a later multi-coated version.

Basically, any version with the focus wheel under the front of the lens is a photosniper lens.

The versions I've seen of the ordinary 35mm version are labelled 300A, whilst the 33 is for medium format (P6?). For the 33, the name is written something like TAYIR on the versions I've seen. I am only assuming it is optically the same based on it being 300m f4.5 and fact the 35mm versions have a strong taper at the back which suggests medium format use is possible. This is all surmise on my part though.

It's a super lens though, and I really like the focus wheel when using with a monopod - much easier than a normal focus arrangement for me.

Mark

tinybynature · Joined: 29 Jan 2013 Posts: 75

would you say the photo-sniper version is easier to use with the pistol grip?

also, is the pistol grip usable for more modern DSLR's?

i can see the focusing wheel on the "photo-sniper" version being a great feature, but i have heard the aperture is difficult to operate, without the pistol grip attached.

can anyone confirm this?

thanks

tromboads · Expire: 2015-10-01

just stick it on some legs and all your problems go away.

*hugs his tair 3*

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

I had two copies and noticed some sample variation. My first copy had more CAs and another the other had much worse colors and was slightly softer.

This is the more "CAs version"

tinybynature · Joined: 29 Jan 2013 Posts: 75

does the pistol grip trigger still activate the aperture (stop down), with a DSLR mounted to the lens, or is this where the modification comes into play? the trigger does not activate the shutter, does it? i believe i have seen others, using an external shutter release (wired or wireless), to activate camera shutter.

i am considering a Tair 3-S with Pistol Grip, but want to make sure it will work for me. I am shooting with a Canon 40d and a Pentax K-01.

i appreciate all the feedback Smile